OUR HOSTS: 

Corinne Foxx - @corinnefoxx

Natalie McMillan - @nataliemcm and @shopnataliemcmillan 

What we're drinking: San Pellegrino Limonata 

TOPIC: 

It’s officially holiday party season, so we wanted to break down the different types of parties that you can host, some basic etiquette for both hosting and attending a dinner party, and a step-by-step guide on how to put together a small gathering. We explain how to keep things as stress-free as possible and highlight the key factors to consider when creating a guest list. Plus, we get into how to curate the perfect menu, playlist, and overall dinner party vibe. 

In this episode, we discuss:

• Different dinner party themes to help get you inspired 
• When you should consider using place cards vs. letting your guests choose their seats 
• The most important aspect of your menu 
• How to come up with the perfect playlist 
• What to do the day before a party to set yourself up for success 
• How to subtly cue that the party is winding down 

RESOURCES MENTIONED: 

Episode 47 - How To Become The Masterchef of Your Kitchen with Chef Megan Mitchell

Episode 109 - How To Maintain a Clean Home  

END OF THE SHOW: 

Corinne and Natalie introduce Hottie of the Week: Paris Hilton 

DRINK RATING:

San Pellegrino Limonata = 9 / Paris 

WRAP UP:

To wrap up the episode, Corinne and Natalie play 200 Questions. Corinne asks Nat which 10-minute block of her life she would choose to relive over and over again for all of eternity, and Nat asks Corinne what she hopes never changes in her life. 

We have a newsletter for our Am I community. You can sign up for the newsletter on our website: amidoingthisrightpod.com

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Don't forget to rate and review the podcast! It really helps us grow!

Hey welcome back to another episode of am I doing this right? I'm Corinne Fox.

And I'm Natalie McMillan

and we are best friends confidants millennials and the hosts of am I doing this right? A life how to podcast from the perspective of non experts.

And each week we cover a new topic and we drink a new

beverage it we are upgrading from wine every week,

whatever beverage we feel like.

And it's a mystery for me because Natalie brought it today so we shall see. And today we are talking how to host a dinner party, which is a very adult thing to do.

Yes. And I feel like we're coming up on Thanksgiving because yes, there's lots of like

little little parties you might be hosting at your home. And so we're gonna be talking about the different types of parties that you can host some basic do's and don'ts and a step by step on how to actually put a dinner party up little party at the house together. And at the end of the episode, we're playing 200 questions so stick around and around and remember you guys you can always write into the show with episode requests at am I doing this right pod@gmail.com Or you can DM us at am I doing this right pod on Insta re on the gram Natalie's grabbing her e tea bag

my et bag that is always filled with drinks. Very excited once upside down. Okay,

01:29

it's all good.

Don't the last time the last episode I don't know if you

guys heard but Natalie exploded her.

My beverage beverage. So this is just like a San Pellegrino laminata Sparkling lemon beverage. I always thought that these were like, like a Lacroix or whatever.

Look, wha they're not there. I

guess not.

There's bringing beverage what fun fact, when, in my previous life, when I worked in advertising in New York, San Pellegrino was our, one of our clients. And I got to as like, very, very low level pitch one of my ideas to the client. Oh, it did not get picked up. But I did get to pitch it and the creative team so basically like you pitch, the creative team like creates like visuals for your pitch. And they did mine was you could drink San Pellegrino out at an outdoor movie.

Into they absolutely could. Yes. Wow.

Yes. All right. So here we go. Let's try it the lemon nada flavor, and

I'm just hoping it's not gonna explode on me. Oh, yeah. Lemon. Yeah, so they also had blood orange and grapefruit. Grapefruit. It's not my thing. If you don't agree. I don't.

Have you ever had the Lacroix Pomplamoose Yes. I love that's my

favorite flavor. I don't like Lacroix. I love spindrift

way better. I love spinner how to spin. That's like me and Joe's like we're like, Oh, we

got spindrift. The other one that I want to try is like Ali poppers. Oh, Joe drinka every single day. Oh, really? Because that's the one that's like, not as sweet. But I think there's like probiotics in or some prebiotics. prebiotics. What's the difference between pre and Pro?

I don't know. We have to do an episode on it.

How to discern between pre and probiotics? Let me take a sip. Oh. Oh. Oh, I just realized what I think the listeners have ever heard me drink a carbonated beverage. There's something that happens. Yeah, I make that weird sound.

What? You know,

I don't know what it is. It's just whenever I'm drinking carbonated drink next to somebody. They're like, what are you doing? I've never heard I have I. I'm sure you have. Okay, here I'm gonna just drink normally. Okay, drink. Tell me if you hear whatever it is. Okay. Oh, yeah, I

know what you're doing. You're sloshing it in your mouth. No, um, no doubt you are.

I'm not washing the I take the zip Jeanie buss.

And then when you do that, the way you're doing it is creating a physical effect into your mouth. And so it's actually bubbling in your mouth.

But I don't It's not like I'm swishing it like mouthwash, but it sounds like you are eating right, right. I

think it's actually the force in which you're slurping a small amount is causing Yaks flowed into your mouth.

I can't just That's what she said. I can't just take like a like, I can't go. Yeah, like I just like put like, you just it just goes straight down. Do one step but you're going

like Yeah, I can't do that. Larry interest. Well, I

don't even if I took even a tiny step. Let me draw

it there. Yeah, that's normal. Oh,

that's burns. It burn and you don't taste it as much? Yeah, you're

doing a lot. There's a lot of like,

I've always done that. Again, I can't physically eat or drink fast. Uh, yeah.

I don't know what it's really good for you and you shouldn't try to eat fast or drink fast.

I think I'm I tried to drink but I would choke on a way you're doing I don't know how. Otherwise, I really well, I'm

really excited for this episode because actually tomorrow I am hosting a murder mystery murder mystery party. I've invested 1000s of dollars at this point, it feels like into the party. And I am like I was so anxious last night about it. I was thinking about it all night. And it was a big party. It's a big event. It's like kind of more like a housewarming party for me and Joe, because now we live together. So yeah, what on the line? You guys were commingling friend groups. Yes, it could go. So I mean,

I've known Joe for however many years a long time. I've met one of his friends.

I know because we don't we normally do our friend group stuff. Yeah, he has a lot of friends that have girlfriends. So we just do like double dates, right? We don't ever, like, have everyone over. And also, I'll just say this, and I'll get into the episode. Joe at first was like, Haha, no, my friends are going to be into like a murder mystery, right? They're dudes. And I said, Joe, just invite them. We've seen three of them since I've invited them. They're like, we're so excited. We can't wait. And we met. We were with one of their moms. And he was like, yeah, he can't stop talking about this murder mystery party. I said, You know what, don't never assume people get into things. You got to give them the permission to be like, you can be a little weird. Yes.

So let me just say if you if you're like, why wouldn't they be excited? So the murder mystery you have to play a character like you're in character. You're a dress stand out your I signed characters, right? And I tell you how you're coming out. Well,

who have you been in my in the past?

One time I was. Oh, you were like the homecoming queen or something? Yeah, in the 80s one. Yeah. And then we did a margarita.

Cabana and about I was no no, you were Oh, I was a you were a dude though. I had to make you one. Personally, but I forget what my role I wasn't like, you were like Captain Jack.

I like I think I was like the you were the owner of the of the hotel. It was see you have to play around. You have to play like

so. You're a child. You guys what the storyline for this one is? Yeah, is that it's Dracula's. 500th. birthday party. Right. And they're all these different. Everybody's coming for his 500th birthday party. You know, and there's there's werewolves there's, you know, there's a mummy coming there's a skeleton coming. Natalie was gonna be which I will just say I'm a vampire. I'm Jackie Lena. Right. Joe is Dracula. Right.

So it's like, you can see why he might be like my grown male friend of yours, or 30 Plus might not want to come and pretend to be a werewolf.

Yeah. But the guy with the werewolf sent us a picture of his costume and was like, I'm so stoked.

Oh, my God, the costumes are gonna be good. People are getting into it. Yeah.

Oh, Mike, you know what, don't be afraid to throw that party because I think what, I think they might be nervous too. But if you give him the opportunity, also, just let you know, the lighting is gonna be low. So people can really like it's gonna be into also, and I was thinking machine tonight, and I backed out.

That would have been pretty good. I was telling Corinne this last night that it's like the perfect if you're mingling friends for your first time, you know, first time mingling your friends. A murder mystery, or like some sort of game like that is really perfect.

Yeah, because you kind of have to go up to people you don't know yet. Like says like, oh, go up to the werewolf and ask them this. Did they kill you? To like, you have a shared memory? Yes, little bond. And you're all you all are really being ridiculous, right? So it's like, there's no like ego in it. Anyway, it's all like the murder mystery company that I use in the show notes if you guys ever want to play because you can buy it. Yeah, let's get into dinner parties and party hosting and why we chose this topic.

Everybody loves a dinner party. Period.

That was so they do everyone loves it. They love it. Darrell

Park. I think also just post pandemic, it's like, let us go hang out with people I'll

know. And I'll pretend to be at my house. Right? If I have social interaction, pretend

to be a bat. That's fine. But you know what, they're not as easy as like just cooking dinner and having friends over. A lot goes into hosting a party, even if it's only for a few friends. So actually, like for me, I recently through a little girls night and there was like, what five of us? And it still took planning, you know? And then you have your party coming up, which is I think this is the biggest one. This is my biggest one. Yeah, it's 20 people. That's a lot of people. So we thought it's just like a good time to look into the best tip some twigs and holiday dinner party. Yeah, the holidays coming up and birthdays all of it. It's easier said than done. You know what I mean? Yes. So let's get into some facts about hosting a party because you know, we love the love

of fact, I thought this was so interesting. So the earliest known use of the phrase dinner party was in Jane Austen's novel Emma in 1816. That's the earliest known use of the phrase I'm going to a dinner party.

It was before that.

Also I need to be aware of for my party. According to a recent survey, 40% of guests at a party are liable to snoop in the host medicine cabinet. That's

wild to me. I would never I would never citizen's arrest on my life.

I might look at someone's skincare. I wouldn't use it. But if it's out I might be like, if it was on the counter, I'm saying if it's on the counter, that would be the only thing I'd be like. Oh, okay. Yeah, these that moisturizer.

I would never open up their drawers now and look, but I would I mean, I love people's skincare, but I would never do that. No, no,

no, no. Also to the company, three's a crowd. And according to a recent study, 10 is a party unless you're a baby boomer or Gen Z millennials and Gen X 10. Is the threshold to be considered a party Okay, while baby boomers have a more conservative limit of eight people before they deem it a party. Okay, a party maybe that's the difference between member with us call. Aging ourselves. Kickbacks? Oh, remember, kickback back?

Kickbacks are very 2012. Yeah. Oh, they don't know that. It's not a party. It's more of a kickback. If you're in college, do you guys have kickbacks? There's no

way that is so unlike an like a millennial term.

I forgot about kickbacks. I wonder what they call it now?

I don't know. I gotta ask my sisters who are 14 years old, right?

Oh my god. So according to an etiquette expert, Thomas Blakely. I suppose maybe we should have an etiquette expert on

that. I did DM one. Oh, okay. So

maybe we will. So he says to be polite and to please your host, you should always leave the gathering at a particular time. On a weeknight. It should be 10:30pm. While on the weekend, you should aim to leave by 1115

I love that. I know. I'm hoping tomorrow everyone is out of my house before 11 They have to be at starts at 730 Right. So I'm like, you know, we'll play a little game we'll eat and then I get the fuck out because I need

Yes. And finally our little fact here is that the largest dinner party on record, I should say took place July 17 2008 When 16,206 People were guests at the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated centennial celebration dinner. Wow. Was Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority at

es a que no, I don't think we had a que?

I don't think so. You know, I have no idea.

But there are different types of themes. As you know, mine is murder mystery theme, but you can have different themes for dinner parties maybe to get you inspired. What are some of those themes so

you can do like a game night or even a Casino Night? That'd be kind of fun. You can do a classic pizza night. Movie Night with popcorn and like a candy bar also in the summer like a taco bar outside. Fun. Obviously murder mystery. Our favorite around the holidays. Secret Santa white elephant party.

Oh, one of Joe's friends every year does a white elephant book exchange. It is so fun. Oh, and they host it every year. We've been like two years now. And like everyone brings a book wrapped and you pick it and you unwrap it and you can steal people's book. But the person who brought it can also be like I read this book this year. I really loved it. They like Yeah, it's really cool. Am I

going to meet this person at? No, they're

not in town. But we did. Next time. Oh, wait,

you got the Snoop Dogg cookbook? Right. That's

I brought it there. Oh, yeah.

Another party Super Bowl parties. Yes, those are fun, or like a game day. backyard barbecue or if you've got a pool, little pool party, or you can start involving your friends. So you could do like a potluck dinner where everybody bring you could be like, you bring a surprise salad. You bring a surprise, blah, blah, blah, or just your good old wine and charcuterie night.

I feel like the girls love that girls love a wine. A dinner party. Like a class like a classic sit down dinner party.

We're doing appetizer, we're doing main course we're doing dessert,

Joe and I just went to one of those his friend did his 29th birthday. And he hired a private chef. And we got to sit down with like 12 people at like a dinner table and there was three courses. It was amazing.

Oh my god are fancy. That sounds very fancy. And just like, I don't know, maybe it's because we're 29 But like, that sounds right up my alley. Yeah, like a chef at home. Oh, go anywhere. Perfect. So let's get into some basic do's and don'ts about throwing a little dinner party, a little Fiesta at

your house. Yeah, let's start with doats Okay, okay. Don't try a new recipe. It might seem like trying out a new fun recipe is a good idea of our dinner party, but to keep things as Rest free as possible. Go for the tried and true. Just go for what you know go what you know that you're good at and then save kind of being experimental or any of that for like a date night dinner at home or Yeah, where you can fuck up right?

I was actually reading an article about a girl who says they have multiple dinner parties like a year. And she says I make the exact same thing every time because everyone likes everybody and they don't even really remember. Yeah, that's like my lasagna. I feel very confident that if I made that 100 Vanya, I can't make it for 20 people. I got catering. That's true. But I mean, I will make it for you. Yeah, I need I need to try it. Another do not do is to go crazy to manage everyone's dietary restrictions. It's very important to have options for all your guests and their dietary needs. But don't go out of your way to make each person with a dietary restriction their own meal.

Natalie and I are gluten free, but and I do appreciate when someone's like,

Oh, that's a little gluten free thing. Yes. When they say like, there's a gluten free, I'm like, but you know, you don't have to be like, okay, like, I have to make them this whole other thing. Like, you know, just yeah, some options for everybody. Yes. Yeah.

Another don't is don't rely heavily on your guests. Your guests will probably say like, what can I bring, and maybe they will come through with a bottle of wine. But people tend to forget things at home, and you want to be prepared. And I was just thinking about that. I'm like, I gotta have a tribe everything.

Yeah. Also don't invite a bunch of people who you know, but that don't know each other. Oh, I did not. Well, I don't think that I don't really think yours counts. Because this has it might be tempting to introduce all your favorite friends to each other. But if you are the only thing they have in common, the evening might feel more like a mixer than a proper dinner party. I feel like the difference between a dinner party and what you're doing is the thing that we have in common is the murder mystery that we're playing the game, right? It's not like so everybody knows Kurt and

Joe, like, like we're all sitting at dinner. Yeah.

Oh, I'm at work. You know, it's like, yeah, yeah.

So look, we're all playing have fun. Yeah. Another don't is don't let your guests do the dishes. So they might offer but unless it is one of your family members, don't take them up on it. They were probably saying it out of politeness, and not because they actually wanted to do your dishes. And if dishes are daunting, and the party is casual, just get paid for

plays. You just throw on top of them.

I had so much.

Okay, then some dues. Start cooking earlier than you think. The goal is for guests to eat around dinnertime, which is typically an hour or so after the time on the invite. But don't start cooking as your guests are arriving. Or you're going to be eating very late and people will get hangry Have you ever been to a wedding? Where the cocktail while they're taking pictures?

And you're just drinking and your blood sugar's

tank and it's like, two hours. Oh my god, that happened me once. It was so long and then we ate dinner at like 10 No way It was a nightmare.

Another do make a playlist background music is essential to cut through any awkward silence. Plus, if your party is theme, it adds to a fight the festive nature. Don't live too loud, though. You don't want people yelling over the song to like talk to someone. And we can vouch for this thing out. We went to a situation that didn't have any music that probably just needed a little just a little background, a little background just like the little in between pauses Yes. Just so it's not just

silent. Dead silence. Yeah, no, it really does make a difference. Another thing you're going to want to do is to serve both alcoholic and non alcoholic beverages. Even if you know everyone on your guests lives and breathes for a margarita. Me. You never know if somebody's newly pregnant or working on sobriety. So give them options and don't make it a deal like a big deal if they choose to not drink the cocktail.

Yeah, Joe sober so he doesn't drink and so he always appreciates when he's kind of thought of or phrase. There's options for him. Like he just wants a Diet Coke

Right? Or also was like if somebody's like freshly pregnant and they're like, why aren't you drinking good? It's like, don't just

Just be cool. Another do is consider seating. So if your party is eight or fewer, let them sit themselves but more than eight and you should give some direction even put down placecards which I think is so helpful because I'm not sure like are you going to Yeah, like are you going to add this up? Is that your

Yeah, I'm just gonna Yeah. Also put out Tom pepper. Even if you're sure the food doesn't need it. It's courteous and considerate of your guests who might you know, they might like things very salty. Yeah. They might want a little extra seasoning.

And other do which we're doing serve dessert. My favorite dessert is a signifier that the meal is over and that you're moving on to the next phase of the party or that the party is wrapping up, forget, give people some dessert be like, like this. And then get out your house.

This is the cue that like, it's over. Yeah, you know. And finally, manage your expectations. So not everything is going to be perfect. Maybe you were planning a sophisticated evening, and then someone found your laptop and they started sharing YouTube videos. If the rest of the parties like into the YouTube videos, just be like, Okay, this is what it is

people are enjoying themselves. Yes. So after the do's and don'ts, we also have to like, actually plan the dinner party is a step by step, a step by step guide and

how to plan a dinner party. So first, very first, you're gonna want to make a timeline. Advanced Planning will ultimately make a dinner party that is much easier to pull off. Making accurate lists and giving yourself plenty of time for each task will minimize chaos, and help you tackle the inevitable glitches that arise. Think about what you don't have to do yourself. So like picking up a dessert having Wine, flowers or other supplies delivered, or hiring a cleaning service for before or after the party. Just trying to keep it as simple for yourself as possible.

Oh, you know, I have an upcoming Saturday. God bless. And at 1pm

I got a I got a you know people put business cards on your windshield. Yeah, it said, Anna loves cleaning. And I thought Is this our Anna? Was it? No, it's a different animal. But I thought Ariana does look clean, she does love to plan.

The second step after you made your old timeline is to create your guest list. So create your guest list, making sure you have enough dishes to serve everyone. And consider your guest list before you send out the invitation. So how many people can fit comfortably in your space? Can you prepare enough food for the number of guests you're inviting? Is there anyone on your list who won't get along with others or is likely to cause problems at the dinner. Also, it's important to have a diverse set of compatible personalities at your gathering so that it's lively and entertaining. And if you know someone is on the quiet side, maybe invite a person who will be able to draw them out. And if someone is prone to, you know, maybe being a bit of a chatterbox then complement them with a safe pair of hands who was strong enough to kind of take control of the conversation and like steer it into neutral ground. Like if someone starts going off about, you know, whatever their will animate or into or whatever something. Oh,

did I tell you about the time that there was somebody at a party who berated me because I didn't believe that Tupac was alive still.

Because he thought Tupac was dead. Yes. Somebody berated you. Oh,

actually called my brother like the next week and apologized because he was like, I was way out of line. And truly, the all the people that were there were like, we can't invite this guy to anything ever again. Yeah,

you got up. You got to really know your friends are really no, we won't be like, Okay. It was crazy.

Okay, third step. Make a list of your decor, and your food. Think about the atmosphere and aesthetic you'd like for the evening. Figure out what you'll need for decor and make a list. Think of your tablescape as more than just serving for food and drinks. It is in fact the scenery for the theater of dinner. But I love that. Let's see a ton of scenery for the date of crafting. Your table linens, plates, silverware, glasses and decorations are visual clues to your guests. Traditional styles create a refined ambiance. A colorful mix will create a more lighthearted one.

Why don't you see mine? I'm gonna post pictures of mine guys. I'm

so excited. Because I usually kind of know what things are gonna look. I don't I have no idea. You

have no idea.

I'm sorry. I'm also really excited for the food. Okay, while you may think that a dinner party requires extraordinary feats of cooking to impress your guests, the most important aspect of your menu is that it can be prepared almost entirely before any guests arrive. which frees you up to host Yeah, that's why catering really would come in.

That's what I'm doing. I'm not making anything now because then you can't host Rios making the pudding cups. And that's it. It's making them tonight.

What was he going to do? Oh, yeah. Oh, he loved them last year. Yeah.

I assigned him the tasks and you're making pudding cups. So he's doing it tonight. Oh, you got to do it. He was gonna do it last night so you can't make up two days.

Oh, no, no, no one day before. Also, like I can just picture him doing it and being so meticulous

he's going to be so meticulous it's going to take him so long to do so I'm just like you do that I'll

Okay, last little tip here in this section is that if you're Making more than one dish, serve them as separate courses. This will make the dinner last longer and highlight the individual dishes you've propelled.

So what do you do the day before this is where I'm at you guys at parties tomorrow time, prepare as much food as possible, including dessert. Ah, perfect. Wow good for good for you. Yes, plan dishes that you can make the day before and then heat up the oven or on the stovetop. That's why lasagna is great because you can make it the day before put in the fridge. Also clean up your home, especially areas where the guests will be like the dining room, the living room and bathroom. And be sure the trash and the dishwasher are empty for the next day. You can also pick up flowers and other natural little touches and put them in faces. And that's how you prep the day before. But what do you do the day of today a

day of all right day of its game time. Take it from Pro chefs and prepare a mishap plus, which is setting out all of the ingredients, sauces, and garnishes you'll need to finish your dishes around a counter area with a cutting board and good knives, lineup all the small bowls, fill them with everything you'll need. That way is just like Easy, easy. Yes, prepare and have your little last dishes. Set up your table and the decor, linens, table settings, glasses, place cards and candles should be laid out. And then we've got serious game time, which is two hours before

arrange all the food you've cooked previously on the counter and pull out any pots, you'll need to prepare them set up a drink and snack station for guests his arrival with wine or an apertivo. Or it may be something small like nibble on pictures or bottles of water on the table. And then get dressed for the evening like candles put on your first play list. And then I think I'm going to do this have a glass of wine or take a moment for yourself so you're relaxed when your guests arrive.

I think that's a great tip. I'm going to need I had never heard of that. And I'm like,

of course yeah. But have a little drink to myself before people comes back.

Okay, nice and relaxed the vibes everything's taken care of also putting pictures of water on tables. Why did I never think of that? I never thought of because everyone's always like, Can I have a glass of water? It's like you can just have they can just get their own water if they want. Yeah. Genius.

So when the guests come, what do we do?

All right, you're always going to greet guests at the door. Make them feel welcome. And you're just going to greet them with a hug and a drink. Yes, if drinks are part of your party, again, you're going to want to have alcohol or non alcohol to offer your guests introduce arriving guests to friends that are standing in the area if they don't know each other. And then after all the guests arrive, the whole should circulate to make sure everyone has someone with whom to talk to and they're enjoying themselves.

Do you remember who did this for us?

Oh man, we were at a party. Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Kimmel. We're so awkward and

we were like we were maximal awkward. Natalie and I are at Jimmy Kimmel's house. That's neither here nor there. And we're just literally standing at the corner of ourselves like we should what do we do and he like came up to him and his wife talking to you guys No, it is no but it's totally cool like when I hand out like hors d'oeuvres you need us to do that and he was like was so lovely and like made sure to talk great he did a really good job oh

my god so

out of our element and they like made sure to circulate and say

I will say I'm not gonna say who it was but there was another person there who was the only person who was more awkward than us Yeah, he was out he went outside and just sort of pacing

28:48

Yeah, he needed he needed to be circulated to really

needed as some and he needed a buddy yeah, really needed a viper. Have you Natalie,

28:55

I don't know what I would have done. You would

have been pacing outside outside of the glass door.

Okay, so at the party, what do we do? Okay,

so we've got before the party now when you're at the party, yes.

So again, music we want the music going. Also we want to minimize cellphone use which can quickly draw you away from the group activity of dining and talking so obviously like answering texts and phone calls during dinner is absolutely crazy and do not do that. That'd be insane. We do have friends that will probably answer

that happened actually at a dinner party

if you must take a call or like send a tax like just try to leave the room so it's not like I mean I can't imagine you hosting and then like Hey Mom Yeah, no, I'm just hosting this donor Okay, and if many of your friends guests whatever they don't know each other you know always warm the room up to an atmosphere maybe like introduce like little element of fun to the evening. Like a murder murder mystery. I mean, is this is this how to plan a murder

mystery party? No. This is essentially how to plan. But if you haven't done a murder mystery party, they're so fun. I mean, I think at this point, they've got another so fun. They are so fun.

Okay, so after the party is over, how do we wrap this thing?

Right, so the jury's out on whether to take time away from your guests to wash dishes immediately after the meal, or to leave them for the morning after and not abandon your post as the anchor of the dinner party. But getting at least some of them out of the way will make your morning much better. It's undoubtedly easier if someone's helping you with the dinner and you can tag team between guests and dish duty at a minimum cork and store any wine, put away your leftovers and get dishes soaking in the sink or plastic tub if you've got a ton of them. Yeah, just anything to kick start so that when you wake up the next day, you know. And if your guests contributed to making the dinner a success, pulling off a surprise party or bringing over food, for example, send them a thank you note the next day. And the format should be at least as formal as the invitation you originally sent was Oh, wow. That's very specific. So

if you texted them to invite them, you could text them. Thank you. Nice. You said like it. Invite right hard.

Yeah. Then send them a little piece of mail. Oh, I

love that. Well, we hope you guys learn more about how to be a good host the do's and don'ts for dinner parties and the steps towards a successful party.

I think those are all fantastic tips. If I'm being I feel very competent now. I feel confident I'm confident for it. I'm so excited. I

just hope everybody comes I really did you get my note yesterday, my email I did. It was

like we need everyone. And if you're not coming, you need to let me you need it. Tell me now.

Was it not nice though? Oh, no, it was very polite. I signed all the emails. See you

in hell, which I love. I'm like, Oh, I didn't reply to the first one. I was like, See you in hell. I was very excited.

Oh, okay. So back to our San Pellegrino Lanata

I'll say at the top. I've never had one of these. I've never had one of these. No, because I always

thought they were like Lacroix ease or whatever. It's like a sparkling juice. Yeah, they're not super sweet though. No. One to our hottie of the week, who we love.

Paris Hilton party Queen party queen is the queen of the parquet. And you know, she really like took a turn like a branding turn. You know her like she was like party Queen of the value was party queen and she was a DJ for a while.

I think she still might be a DJ. Oh, and then now she's kind of like an advocate.

Yes. And she's also incredibly smart. Yeah. Which she like she the whole Paris Hilton thing was a character. She was also like, 19 Or what was a child? We love her. Love her.

And so when to Paris Hilton, what are we reading the San Pellegrino laminata

I'm gonna give it a nine. I'm gonna give it a nine

for what it is like for what it is really simple. It's giving you what it should give you.

Yeah, it's not super like lemonade. Sweet. It's all

lemonade. It's like a it is literally a sparkling lemon beverage. It

actually tastes like lemon juice, like a slightly sweet lemon juice in a little fizzy Bevy.

I love that nine out of Paris Hilton.

All right, this is the part of the episode where we play a little wrap up game. And this week, we're playing two under questions. Now we're not answering 200 questions. We're picking a question one through 200 They get more intimate. As they get higher up. We haven't played this one for a while. Okay, so Natalie, one to 200 What are you at some

point we're gonna have done all of these. Okay, one to 200 189 Oh, damn, that's kind of high.

That is really high. Okay, scrolling scrolling.

Maybe it's an intimate dinner party with your closest friends. Okay, here we go.

This is in saying, Oh God, this is insane. If you were forced to relive 1 10-minute block of your life again and again for all eternity. What 10 minutes of your life would you choose? That is inside. I'll give you

time to think about that over and over again.

For all of eternity, I guess most likely will be like, when I got

married when I brought my baby home. Oh no. 10 minutes of my life. I mean, it's just like, it's hard because I have like, again, like there's like large memories of things. I like I loved that or the 10 minutes. 10 minutes. I don't know Natalie. That's Joe. Okay. This is not gonna sound okay, this is what I'm just gonna go with. In actuality what I want to live this over and over and over again until I die.

Oh, not even till you die for all of eternity for all of eternity. So

in this life and in the afterlife at all just forever. Wow, that is very

also one of my worst fears is like looping and not being able to get out.

That is there's got to be an end. I'm just gonna say this memory because it's, it seems like it was fine. The 10 minutes, like five minutes before it's gonna sound insane. Five minutes before New Year's 2020 and five minutes after. I want to tell you why. Because first of all, we were all to get our friend group all together. We were having a great time. And if you don't remember, right before 2020 There was something in the air where everyone was so optimistic and happy. And like, the vibes were fantastic. Obviously, we didn't know it was coming. Yeah, but I remember 2020 vision 22 Like, it was like 2020 Like, new decade like this whole thing. And, you know, I love New Year's. So I'm just gonna say that everybody was in such a great happy space.

I love that. I think that's totally fair. So

we're gonna go it's a great one. Yeah. All right. That was tough.

I do not know what I do not know what I would have said. All right. Pick a

number. I'll go with eight. Oh, we're going way up at the top here. Interesting. This is hard. What do you hope never changes?

I just thought this was instead I hope my friendship with you never changes. Oh, seriously? Well, this morning, I was doing the meditation that we do with the little Australian girl.

Oh, what a beautiful morning. That one. Great, great morning.

Do your 10 Things that you were used to say your 10 things you're grateful for. And you were not that a viewer. My last one I was like, oh, and Natalie. Like, I'm so grateful. I have her and I can call her and I can tell her but I broke a glass. She actually cares to like, look into it.

I really didn't look into it. I was like, immediately I was like, meaning of broken glass spiritual.

And I was just like, you know, I feel like when we met that one girl, we went to a different podcast studio. And she was like, I don't have a best friend. Do you remember? I don't want to say what we were on somebody else's show. Oh, yes. And I remember thinking like, oh, wow, I forget, like, I'm so lucky to have someone that I could literally call at anytime and tell this dumb Miss detail of my day too. And

I mean, I agree. And I said this, I say this to my therapist, maybe every single question. She was like, Do you have like, anyone that you like, inherently trust? I was like, pretty much just correct. Just grin. She was like, you could tell her anything. I'm like, I could tell her anything. I know.

And so I hope that never changes. That was like my instinct I was just looking at you're like,

Oh, me too, if it will honestly, if it ever did. We've discussed this is this most one cannot exist without the other. This is

38:27

not going to work out.

Actually, I was talking to my therapist about other friends that I have. And she was like, literally was like, you talk about crunches, like I've never heard of these other ones. It's because I'm with Corinne. All the time. I said we work together more trips together. We go to places together like Yeah, well. I love Yeah, I love you.

And you guys, if you liked this episode, we actually have similar episodes.

We sure do. Episode 47 How to become the master chef of your kitchen with Chef Meghan Mitchell. That's a good one. She's such a queen. Also has the best sugar cookie recipe for glad Yeah. Oh,

I need to make that this year. So good.

My dad ate like 15 It was scary. Also episode 107 How to maintain a clean home? Yeah, cuz you're gonna want that Yeah, remember that pop and

ready. Pop in ratty, keep it tight. Keep it pocket ready.

Already. Somebody might pop in for dinner. You don't know.

All right, you guys. Wow. We love you guys and we will be back next week with another episode.